Illuminated sign.



yW. F. STACK.

ILLUMINATED SIGN.

AIfPLIoATIoN FILED 00T. 29, 191'.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

VVlTNESSES R, O T N E V m m v m 5a .NW

ATTO RN EY ble face,

A but a single source of light be employed, and

unire-n erariale ramene onirica.

WIILIM FRANCIS STACK, OF KNGXVILLE,.TENNESSEE.

ILLUMINATED sien.

rieaeoi.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, lViLLiAii F. STACK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Knoxville, in the county'ofI Knox and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful lllumiiiated Sign, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention has reference to improvements in illuminated signs, and its object is to provide a sign readily visible both in day light and at night, and which may be illuminated with a minimum number of light unit-s.

In accordance with the present invention theA sign may be made wholly of opaque materia] with a light giving element or unit to the rear thereof, that is, back of the visiwhile the opaque material is so arranged as to present numerous illuminated elements outlining the characters of the sign and which elements are so arranged as to be apparently evenly illumlnated, although the sign characters be located at different distances from the source of light.

' The sign is usually made of sheet metal with punched-out portions joined to the body of the sign by small oi attenuated connecting parts, and these punched-out portions are bent rearwardly or away from the observed face of the sign at an angle thereto. The sign is made visible at night by the illumination of these p unched-out portions from a source of artificial light housed within the sign. rlhis artificial illumination may be brought about very satisfactorily by means of a single source. of light of much less extent in any direction than the sign or even a sign character, and in order to accomplish thisdesi 1able' result the punched-out portions are so arranged with respect to the source of light that their observed reflecting faces are all presented toward the source of light in substantially the same relation thereto whereby each' reflecting element directs through the face of the sign character substantially the same .proportion of the light reaching it from the source of light as does each of the other reflecting elements. rThis is true even though some of the sign characters be quite distant from the source of light and others be quite close to it.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2, lllili'.

departure from the salient features of the invention.

ln the drawings: Figure l is a fat-fe View of a sign constructed in accordance with the present invention and partly broken away to show a source of illumination Within the sign. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a detail face'view of one of the sign characters on a larger scale than Fig. l. F ig. 4 is a detail section through one of the punched-out reflecting members. Fig. is a perspective view of one of the punched-out reflecting members on a larger scale than Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing a slight modification in the form of the reflecting members or units.

Referring to the drawings there is shown a sign made up of a face plate l, another face plate 2 when the sign is of the double face type, and which may simply constitute the back wall of the sign when of the single face type, and there are provided connecting members 3 which may constitute the top, bottom and ends of the sign. The particular structure of the face plates and edge members does not enter into the present invention and hence no attempt has been made to show the body of the sign otherwise than more or less diagrammatically.

Produced upon the face of the sign, and this means one or both faces in accordance with whether the sign is a single face or a double .face sign. there are sign characters i, the simplest way of producing these sign characters being by painting them upon the face of the sign in some Contrasting color to the body portion of the face l or 2 upon which the.,v are produced. This, however, does not preclude the formation of the sign characters in some other manner, the purpose being to provide for an attractive day light appearance.

punched out from the face l or :2, as the case may be, oir both, are reflecting elements or units 5 shown in most of the figures of the drawing as substantially circular, While in Fig'. 6 the outline of these units simulates the appearance of a small electric vlight bulb, as' indicated at'a in Fig. 6. Whatever be the formation of the punched-out portion it is not usually completely severed from the face plate, but is customarily connected thereto by a relativelyl attenuated integral portion 6, at which point the unit is bent'away from the planeof the face of' the sign toward the interior of the body portion of the sign.' Furthermore, the reflecting ."units- 5 are each shown as having a visible face 7 concave, although the concavity is not obligatory, but is to be preferred as enhancin the effect.

Iounted' within the body of the sign is a light source 8 shown as an incandescent electric lamp, the showing being considered as typical of any suitable source of light and in practice 'a Mazda or tungsten incan'` descent electric lamp, or any other high efficiency lamp may be employed. Under some circumstances good effects may be produced by gas or oil lights, but for obvious reasons the' electric light where available is used. In order that the lamp 8 may be 'readily accessible it may be mounted upon of light that all the reflecting units have the same or substantially the same angular relation to the source of light irrespective of their distance therefrom although their relation to each other varies with their disv` tance from the source of light. The connection is therefore diametrically opposite from that edge of the reflecting unit which is directed toward and nearest to the lamp 8 and the reflecting unit is bent upon the emitted by the lamp.

support 6 so as to project into theinterior of the sign at an angle to rays ot' light The reflecting units are produced within the outlines of the sign lcharacters and are associated to produce the sign characters so that they appear to be made up of a properly arranged series of small units, thereby producing an attractive appearance at night, and, furthermore, the units are visible by day light and add to the attractiveness of the sign characters in which they are located, the appearance both by day and night being somewhat similar to the familiar bulls eye type of illuminated sign characters. Moreover, the effect at night is quite close in appearance to the bulls eye type of sign character, but with into the interior'of. the sign the advantage of low cost of manufacture, freedom from injury and capability of quite n even villumination with a. single light source,

a single twenty-five or forty Watttungsten lamp giving suflicient light to illuminate a sign of' commercial size including numerous sign characters with even those. sign characters most distant from the light well illuminated and not noticeably less brilliant than those closer to the light source.

The feature 4of the present invention con tributing to evenness of illumination and distinguishing the sign or sign character of the present invention from others of like type, is the arrangement of the reflecting units 5 or 5a so that the line of connection of each unit with the faceof the sign is substantially perpendicular to and bisected by a plane in itself substantially perpendicular to the face of the sign, if flat, and said plane includes they source of light, the mid point of the refleeting unit and a of the reflecting unit located in a diameter including the mid point of the connection of vthe reflecting unit With the face of the sign.

light and others quite distant --therefroni- The reason for this is that because of the' relation of each reflecting unit' to the common light source, each reflecting unit or element directs through thefaceijof the. sign or sign character substantially-the same vproportion of light reaching it from the source of light as' does each of the other reflecting .elements or units. The effect.' is further 'elfthat some of the sign characters are quite close to lthe source of' point of the inner edge las hanced by making the visible face of each"- rcflecting unit or -element intehsity of illumination proved thereby as though of the illumination. `By tioning of the degree of concavity of -the visible faces ofthe rellectingunits and the degree of bending of these reflecting units an approximate evenness of illumination from a single light source may be brought about, but in all instances the line of bendfj's` perpendicular, or substantially so, to the' light rays reaching the corresponding element. Hence each light reflecting element is in ,the saine relation to the light source'as all the others with 'the single exceptionA of distance, but the effect of concave and the is apparently iinby-a condensation a suitablepro orsmall ivatt'age,

distance may be modified .to an appreciable citent bythe angle'of the reflecting elements t ltlie planeof'fthe visible face of the sign.

Forsmall'signs a single electric lamp of especially if of the high elliciency type, is suliicient, While for large signs the light giving means must, of course, b e`1nore intense. `lt can, however, be limited to a single approximately centrally located light gixing element or a 'circum'scribed group of such elements acting in effect as a single light source. While for large signs it maybe found advisable to employ more than one light giving element, the specified arran ement of the light reflecting units to each istinct light giving element or group thereof is maintained, so that a single source of light, or a group acting effectively asa single source, and hence included under such term as a single light giving element, Will illuminate effectively several sign characters at one time, Wherefore by the present invention the cost of illumination is reduced to a verylow minimum Without sacricing the appearance of the' illuminated sign.

While the light reflecting elements have been described as punched out of thesign face and integrally 'connected therewith, it is to be understood that they may be otherwise formed and otherwise supported but so' as to all maintain the specified relation to the light source by which the results described are obtained.

The word facing as used herein with respect to the relation of the reflecting elements to the source of light means that the reiiecting face of each reflecting element of the sign, Whether near to or distant from the one source of light, is turned toward such source of light in the same manner, to the same extent, and to the same degree as all the other reflecting elements. Considering then the face of the sign as flat, the different reflecting elements each have the reflecting face at a different angle to the face of the sign from that of anyl other reflecting element, the angles differing in accordance with the distances from the source of light. Since the facing position of the reflecting elements to the single source of light is alike forall elements, rays of light emitted by the light source and striking the same relative point on each reflecting element have the same angle of incidence and angle of reflection for all the elements, this of course being subject to such slight variations as might occur in any such structure. Therefore, though there be but one source of light at, say, a central point with the sign characters .extending along the sign in opposite directions from the source of light, all the reflecting elements Will direct through' the face of the sign to the eye of the observer substantially the same proportion of the light reaching them.

through the front ofthe sign all facin each element vextending rearwardly from the observed face of the sign at an angle thereto, and the sign also being provided with a source of light common to all the sign characters and located back of the observedface of the sign, those portions 0f the Ireflecting elements that are visibl'e t I'e common source of light substantially alile,

and each being at an angleto the rays of light reaching it from the common source to reliect through the front of the sign to the eye of an observer substantially the same proportion of such light as each of the other elements.

2. A sign composed of a plurality of sign characters with a single source of illumination back of the observed face of the sign and located substantially intermediate of the length of the plurality of sign characters, each sign character having a series of llight reflecting units or elements projecting at an angle to the plane of the sign character in a direction away from the observed face thereof and each reflecting element having the diameter extending from the mid point of the connection with the body ofthe sign tothe opposite free edge located in a plane substantially perpendicular to the face of the sign character an passing through the source of light.

3. A sign composed of a plurality of sign characters with a single source of illumination back of the observed face of the sign and located substantially intermediate of the length of the plurality of sign characters, each si n character having a plurality of light re ecting units or elements projecting at an angle to the plane of the sign character in a direction away from the observed face thereof and each ielecting element having the diameter extending from the mid point of the connection Withthe body of the sign to the opposite free edge located in a plane substantially perpendicular to the facev of the sign character and passing through the source of light, and each reflecting element also being concaved or dished on the observed face.

4.-. A sign composed of a plurality of sign characters with a source of light back of the observed face of the sign and located substantially intermediate of the length of the sign, each character including a plurality of light reflecting units fast at one side to the face of thesign and projecting awayfrom the observed face of the sign at an angle to the plane thereof, each reflecting unit irrespective of its distance from the source of light having the point of nearest approach to the source of light most distant from the point of connection with the sign and located in ra diameter which 4is in a plane substantially perpendicular to the face of the sign and passing through the source of light.

v5. A sign having a face member of opaque material with a group lof sign characters produoedthereon in the forml of integral portions of the face member extending in a direction away roinlthe observed face of the sign at an angle thereto, and the sign being provided With a 'source of light back of the observed face and substantially central to the length of the group of sign char-` acters, all of said rearwardly extendingt'fiortions being dished or concaved on there ecting portionsV and all similarly. facing the central source of light.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afxed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM 'FRANCIS STACK.v

Witnesses:

GEO. G. GRACE, Ron'r. CLARKE. 

